Dr. Paul Connett is recognized worldwide as a leader in the movement to eliminate fluoride from the municipal water supplies, and I'm pleased to be working with him to achieve this goal.
Earlier this year, he used frequent flyer miles to visit New Zealand and in a month-long tour gave presentations to communities all over the country.
In this interview, he shares some of the successes the movement has experienced.
Dr. Connett has great hopes that New Zealand will move to ban water fluoridation.
He may be right, because if they lose credibility on this issue, they stand to lose credibility on other public health policies, such as the childhood vaccination schedule, for example. After all, they must have the public's trust in order to effectively oversee public health policy, and that's part of the reason for why they're fighting so hard to stave this issue off.
The Upper Hutt City council also resolved to lobby Wellington Regional to stop fluoridation. "They can't put citizens down anymore. They can't pull rank on citizens. They can't say, "I'm a doctor, I'm a dentist and you're a nobody, go away.

Upper Hutt City Council has part-funded a rap video designed to make youths stay at school. The rap clip, dubbed "Get Schooled," features Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy and former NZ Next Top Model star Isabel "Issy" Thorpe. Created by Oosh Multimedia,
The Upper Hutt City Council-produced document 'DIScover: serving customers with disabilities' has been officially launched to loud acclaim. Upper Hutt, 29 Nov 2011 — The Upper Hutt City Council-produced document DIScover: serving customers with

They had received frequent visits from Occupy Wellington demonstrators, and one from acclaimed photographer Ans Westra. A Hutt City Council spokeswoman said the council was hopeful a resolution could be reached without council intervention. protest.

Council officers have suggested in their latest report that the outdoor McKenzie Pool should be closed. A Petone pool under threat of closure has been thrown a lifeline, to the delight of the local community. A Hutt City Council report had suggested
Hutt City Council today received a gold Business Excellence Award which places it amongst the top performing organisations in New Zealand.
It is the first council to receive the gold standard and is only the fourth organisation in the country awarded this level of recognition in the past 15 years.
The New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation runs the New Zealand Business Excellence Awards. Applicants are assessed under the same rigorous conditions and are evaluated in a similar manner to the internationally recognised Malcolm Baldrige Awards in the United States.
Mayor Ray Wallace says being assessed independently and against such high standards signals the significance of the achievement.
"Being recognised with a gold level award is a fantastic result for our city.
"I was a Hutt City Councillor when we won the silver for business excellence in 2006. That experience helped the organisation sharpen its resolve to strive for even better results for our city.
"Receiving this award is confirmation we are certainly on the right track. Our city has achieved efficiencies and gains and this has included our ability to partner with other councils in the region. Our financial model also demonstrates our prudence and care in managing our finances to ensure infrastructure and services are provided while keeping a close watch on debt," says Mayor Wallace.
Hutt City Council Chief Executive Tony Stallinger says the award "recognises the energy and enthusiasm across our organisation for excellence in all we do and finding new, innovative ways to produce results for the people of the Hutt.
"Our vision is to create a better city every day by understanding our communities' values, building strong partnerships and delivering fresh solutions.
"A lot of work has gone into elevating Hutt City Council from silver to gold and along the way we've achieved some fantastic results. We are especially pleased with achieving such high customer satisfaction levels while minimising rate increases.
Dear Hutt City Council, thank you so fucken much! You've had all week to turn the water off "for up to two hours" and you choose a Saturday.
Hutt City Council - Hutt Night Market - a great success
Hutt City Council - Road closure as Black Creek Project enters final phase
Hutt City Council - Hutt Rec set to rock with Carols by Candlelight
does anyone have a photo of the new Hutt City Council 55L recycling bins?